Search EQECAT.com
Related Materials
Asia Typhoon Model Brochure
(PDF 401 KB)
Typhoon Sanba Hits South Korea; Minimal Insured Loss Expected
17-Sep-12
Typhoon Sanba made landfall on September 17, 0300 UTC in Goseong in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea as a Category 1 typhoon (80 knots, reported by JTWC). Sanba caused significant disruption along its path bringing torrential rains, localized flooding, shutting down mass public transportation, including airports, and causing power outages. Sanba moved briskly across the country, thereby reducing the potentials of major flooding. Sanba made landfall about 90 km southwest of Busan, sparing the second largest metropolis in South Korea after Seoul. EQECAT estimates that the insured loss from this event is expected to be minimal because most damage is expected to be below deductibles.
Last week Sanba was a Category 5 storm, making it the most intense storm of the 2012 storm season, across all global basins. On Sunday morning, September 16, Sanba made landfall as a Category 3 storm battering Okinawa, packing winds of about 100 knots. Okinawa received about 7 inches of rainfall. The event caused localized flooding, power outages and cancellation of flights. Reports indicated that about 67,000 homes in southwestern Japan lost power and some areas flooded due to this event.
The storm weakened as it moved into cooler waters and into an environment with increased wind shear. However, Sanba maintained its typhoon status during landfall in Goseong in South Gyeongsang, South Korea. The landfall intensities reported by 3 meteorology agencies varied - The Joint Typhoon Warning Center, Korean Meteorology Agency, and Japan Meteorology Agency reported 80 knots, 85 knots and 90 knots wind speeds (all 1-minute sustained) respectively. It was a large storm with typhoon force winds extending out to about 100 km and tropical storm winds extending about 380 km.
After making landfall in South Korea, the storm moved briskly toward the north-northeast at 20 knots, thereby reducing the potentials of major widespread flooding. A 24-hour accumulated total rainfall exceeded 100 mm in most provinces in the south-western parts of South Korea. Rainfall totals on Sunday, September 16 were 150 to 400 millimeters in Jeju, 100-200 millimeters in southern regions, 50-150 millimeters in the Chungcheong region and over 50 millimeters in the surrounding areas in Seoul. Sanba is expected to continue to bring rainfall of up to 400 millimeters before exiting South Korea on Tuesday, September 18.
Typhoon Sanba Rain Rate - September 17, 2012
Source: Korea Meteorological Administration
Sanba made landfall about 90 km southwest of Busan, sparing the second largest metropolis in South Korea after Seoul; a direct hit in Busan could have caused significant damages. EQECAT does not expect significant insured loss from this event.
Users of EQECAT's Asia Typhoon Model are expected to use event id 69976 as the best proxy for this event to ascertain the impact of this event on client's exposure portfolio.
Typhoon Sanba - September 17, 2012
Source: Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC)
As of September 17, 0900 UTC, Sanba was located 10 nautical miles northwest of Taegu, South Korea. Maximum intensity of the storm is about 45 knots. The storm is moving north-northeast as has transitioned to an extra-tropical cyclone. This is the last update for this event.
Engineering Risk and Site Evaluations
EQECAT Inc. and ABS Consulting are part of the ABS Group of Companies. ABS Consulting offers on-site risk assessments, evaluations and structural engineering services with more than 1,800 employees worldwide. ABS Consulting engineers and scientists use EQECAT catastrophe risk models to provide risk assessments, in addition to having performed inspections or repairs after more than 100 earthquakes and 25 major windstorms. Learn more about ABS Consulting's natural hazard risk assessment capabilities.
Subscribe to CatWatch email alerts, and receive CatWatch Catastrophe Reports to your inbox.